5 Metrics for Managing Innovation: Lessons From Growth Leaders ^Top This White Paper will tackle the managerial challenges of designing and im- plementing the dashboard of metrics for managing innovation, using the best available evidence and the insights from the participants in the 2019 Mack Fall Conference to address these questions: • Why is innovation performance hard to measure? • What is the contribution of innovation metrics to innovation performance? • Which innovation metrics should be used in a dashboard? • What are the primary pitfalls in measuring innovation and aligning the measures with incentives? • How can these measurement pitfalls be overcome? A dashboard of innovation metrics has many uses. It is essential for identi- fying the weak links in the overall innovation process, and costly disconnects between the growth strategy and the portfolio of growth initiatives. It is also needed to hold managers accountable, by setting targets for improvement and linking incentives to reaching their targets. An adroitly chosen metric with a challenging target is a strong signal of a shift in strategic priorities. A.G. Lafley successfully transformed the innovation process in Procter & Gamble by setting a goal of obtaining 50 percent of their innovations from outside the company.6 Establishing the right innovation metrics and linking improvements on these measures to rewards is an essential point of any initiative to improve the innovation prowess of a firm. This reality is highlighted in the story of how the staid Whirlpool Corporation became more innovative. The lessons are applicable to any firm seeking to use innovation to increase its organic growth performance.  6 A. G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin, Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, Boston MA: Harvard Busi- ness School Press, 2013.